US Restaurants "Challenges Continue, But Select Brands Winning" Geiger

Research evidence excerpt

US Restaurants "Challenges Continue, But Select Brands Winning" Geiger

Taco Bell franchisees remain positive on brand strength and the consistent

outperformance which has continued into '26. Taco Bell continues to fire on all

cylinders, including product / menu, marketing / messaging and digital. In addition

to compelling value and confidence in the new product pipeline to support

continued sales momentum, operators are encouraged by the brand's beverage

opportunity and Live Mas Cafe store potential. Following strong sss results in

recent quarters, multiple operators have noted slower trends in May, but largely as

a result of difficult prior year comparisons.

7 Brew franchisees continue to sound especially positive on overall performance,

including strong sss trends, confidence in outlook, and positive on overall brand

strength. Franchisees noted little impact from increased competition entering the

coffee / energy / specialty beverages segment, including from larger QSRs

Starbucks and McDonald's and their recent beverage launches. Additionally, while

noting store overlap between 7 Brew and Dutch Bros is relatively limited,

expectations are that it will take a long time before the two brands have significant

competitive overlap given different regional concentrations and growth strategies.

Select pizza brand franchisees highlighted pizza category pressures, in part

reflecting challenges from lower income exposure, category-wide frequency

pressures, and ongoing restaurant competition in digital / delivery.

Regular customers a sizable portion of sales; Service & recognition opportunity

Repeat visitors make up ~7% of a restaurants' guest base, but generate up to 50% of

total order volume, according to Toast's 1Q26 data. When guests join a loyalty program,